With the foal crop of 2010 only just beginning to appear, it seems a little early to be getting excited about yearlings but with Manduro, there’s every reason to be.
Among his first crop are half-siblings to the Group One winners Cima de Triomphe, Schiaparelli, Best Of The Bests, Doctor Dino, Floiot and Turfrose. There are also Manduro colts out of the Group One-winning mares Edabiya and Gloriosa, and a filly from G1 EP Taylor Stakes winner Choc Ice, the dam of Godolphin’s Listed winner Chock A Block. At last year’s sales, foals from his first crop made up to €362,924, setting an average of €61,559 for 20 sold.
And as if that illustrious bunch isn’t enough, Manduro’s second book also contained many talented individuals, including a repeat visit from Turfrose, fellow Group One winner Dress To Thrill and the dams of Group One winners Teggiano, Distant Way, Konigstiger, Dai Jin and Shamdinan.
He may not have gained international recognition until his four-year-old season but Manduro was Champion two-year-old in his native Germany, where his sire Monsun has carved a niche for himself among Europe’s elite sires with a strike rate of 12 per cent Stakes winners to foals.
Manduro raced on at three, four and five to claim ten victories from his 18 starts in which he was never out of the frame. His final triumphant, unbeaten season included the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, Prix Jacques le Marois, Prix d’Ispahan, a superb Arc trial in the Prix Foy and a new course record at Newmarket in the Earl Of Sefton Stakes. Since the start of the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings began, only one horse has been given a mark in excess of Manduro’s and that’s Cape Cross’s phenomenal son Sea The Stars.
Manduro stands at Kildangan Stud at a fee of €20,000 – exceptional value for a horse who retired to stud with a Timeform rating of 135.
